How to Start a Business by Networking
By Monica Tagore
Starting a business requires a lot of skills, resources, and information you don't have. But if you do it right, you can have access to the information.
Each year nearly a million small businesses start. And most of them fail. Most small businesses in this country go under within the first three years.
The key reason most close: insufficient resources. The resources a business needs to survive and thrive include planning, money, and technical knowledge. A great idea is wonderful, but it won't keep the business going if the other pieces aren't in place.
Most business owners think their wonderful idea - product or service - is enough. It's not. These business owners trust their ideas will get them through because they don't personally have all the resources necessary to build their businesses.
But that's the beauty of tapping into your network. You don't have to know everything to start or run a successful business. Successful business owners realize it's not about what they know, but about who they know.
If you don't personally have the money to start and grow your business, maybe your contacts do. If you don't personally know how to write a business plan, maybe your contacts do. If you don't personally know how to generate sales, maybe your contacts do.
Tap into those contacts to help you get going on your business. Do you know an accountant who can give you some advice? Maybe you have a friend who does bookkeeping who is willing to work with you on the side. Have you been a good customer of your bank for many years? Maybe your bank will fund your dream - after you've come up with a good business plan, something a contact may be able to help you do.
The key to networking your way to a successful business is to look at your relationships a bit differently. You may just look to your relationships as a way to have fun, but consider how they can be a way to grow your business.
I launched my business with little money. But I turned to the people I knew and got them on board. That has been a key to my business's success. I found clients by working the relationships I already had - even landing my former employer as a key client! When I needed an accountant, I found one through another business owner - who was also a client. Five years later, my business is growing at a great clip. I realized I didn't need to do every single thing myself. I was not afraid to ask for help or tap into my contacts.
A fellow entrepreneur telephoned me earlier this week to tap into my knowledge. She needed to find a new location for her business, but didn't have the money. I helped her consider plans for growing her struggling business. She is now looking at bringing in significant money from investors to take her business to the next level. And the exciting part is that these interested investors are all people she knows!
How do you know which of your contacts will be good resources for your business? Here are three ways to figure it out:
1. Find out what the person's skill set is: Each person is good at something. Is this something that can be used in your business? What does this person know - and who does this person know? What does this person do for a living?
2. Check out the person's character: Consider your dealings with this person. Is this someone you can trust? Does this person conduct himself in an ethical way?
3. Find out what this person wants: See if you can determine this person's goals, dreams, or current aims. Is there a way you can help this person meet her goals? If so, maybe you two can help each other.
Once you determine what the person can offer you, what type of person this is, and what this person may want that you can provide, you have a good lead. Make a list of five needs you have for your business. Then make a list of ten to 15 contacts who may be able to fill in those gaps.
Go through both lists and match potential contacts to your needs.
By evaluating your current relationships in this way, you can increase the resources available to your business. When you increase your resources, you increase your chances for success!